Through the Eyes of Dougie the Dolphin
by temporarystatus
Summary: A short time passed before I was picked up again. The hand was large and rough, nothing I've ever felt before. It belonged to a blond boy, taller than I've ever seen the girl. He placed me gently on a stool, as if handling precious China. I liked it. It had been far too long since I've felt cared for that much. / / Read Author's Note at the top.


**A/N: Hi guys. Okay, so let me be honest and upfront right now. I was trolling the archive as usual and Lord Jeremy Silver's title for his story "If stuffies could talk" and honestly, I just exited out of FF and opened notes on my phone and wrote straight for an hour and a half. I wrote it with the type of Toy Story aspect in mind and I truly didn't read his story until **_**after**_** I finished writing. I realized then that our stories actually have quite a few things in common which really bums me and I'm sorry, I honestly didn't plan it. I'm not copying him, I was just inspired by the title. I'm SO SORRY for coincidences.**

**P.S.: Was Larry the Laughing Lizard the only stuffed animal named because that's the only one I remember and that we're all familiar with…**

**Thank you **Lord Jeremy Silver **for the inspiration from your title! Sorry again about the similar aspects. :/**

**HUGE THANK YOU & shout-out to my dearest friend Sam for reading this over and convincing me it's not as creepy as I felt it was as I wrote it. She's literally the sweetest and the best and is a fantastic writer. This is dedicated to you! :)**

Through the Eyes of Dougie the Dolphin

The hands started out small and soft. The girl, tiny and short, held me tight on the ride home. She never let go of me, letting me sit beside her as she ate dinner, joining in on her tea parties, and teaching me piano.

(My stuffed fins weren't built for tasks like that though neither of us cared.)

That was our first day together.

She let me rest on the foot of her bed while she was at school and cuddled me at night. At the time, it felt perfect.

Time had passed and adventures had lessened but we still spent as much time together as possible. The girl, slightly older, brought me to the park. She allowed me to sit on her lap as we swung, the wind cascading through my soft fur.

Later on, a bully had pushed us to the ground. The gravel was rough and some stuck to my tail but I know the girl had it worse. Red seeped from her palms and knees slowly and she tried her best not to let the water fall from her eyes.

It was our first tumble together.

Time passed again, longer now, though I still sat at the foot of her bed. She didn't grab me and pick me up as much. Her brown hair was longer and her frame was taller. When she was upset, she would hold me to her chest like she used to and it wouldn't be long until I felt water on my fur. I didn't mind it though, because it was on nights like these when she would fall asleep holding me like she used to.

Her hands are bigger but it's okay. I knew that she would grow unlike me.

She picked me up one day and brought me to her father's store, memories of her narrations of adventures coming to mind. I sat on the piano bench in the practice room as she played her heart out.

(I wished we would defy normality and she'd try to teach me to play again, despite the fins. She didn't.)

A ringing from her mother caused her to rush out the door and leave me alone. That night, after locking up the store, her father gave me a sad smile and gently placed me in the storage closet.

Larry the Laughing Lizard quickly became a friend, both of us forgotten and left to be.

(Though his laughing did getting annoying after a while.)

A short time passed before I was picked up again. The hand was large and rough, nothing I've ever felt before. It belonged to a blond boy, taller than I've ever seen the girl. He placed me gently on a stool, as if handling precious China.

I liked it. It had been far too long since I've felt cared for that much.

I watched as the boy attempted to help the girl and then bargain for me. I was gleeful when she had adamantly refused. I was to belong only to her.

(The empty feeling was simply because she had held me for so little of time, not because I just missed my chance on being cared for again.)

It was not very long before the girl traveled back to my precious closet and plucked me from beside Larry. As she closed the door, she gently petted my fur and gave me a smile.

"I'll miss you," she had said softly, kissing my fur and holding me tight.

I felt dread. I heard those words before from all around the house when I stayed there. It meant the end. It meant there was no longer a use for me and that I was no longer needed.

I tried to grip my fins to her arms but they didn't move the slightest. Stupid stuffing.

I was transferred from her soft, gentle hands to the rough, large ones from before. The boy hugged me tightly in glee, something I haven't experienced for a long while.

Confusion hit me as I was quickly transferred back to the girl. Was I not good enough?

Late that night I returned to the hands of the boy and that night, he cuddled me close to his chest as he slept. It almost felt like home.

Almost.

There were few nights when the boy didn't huddle me close. Those were nights when he wasn't in his bed.

A time had come when he held me tighter than ever, and was home more often than not, most of that time was spent with me in his arms.

Not long into these nights, the boy cried.

Often times I had become a confidant to him I assume and he would whisper things in the middle of the night. This time, he collapsed onto his bed and pulled me against his chest. I felt very small compared to the large boy.

"I messed up so much," he sobbed. "I kissed her and then Kira came and said yes. I screwed everything up. I don't know how to fix it."

That night, my stuffed heart broke for the boy.

Gradually as days passed, his tight hold on me loosened, though every night he still held me. I figured that the troubles that hovered over him that night had lessened greatly and the smile that graced his face most nights while he slept was back.

It was a particularly late night a little while later when the boy bursted into the room, loosening the tie around his neck. The girl, in a dress, followed closely behind him and gently shut the door.

I had seen her a few times since she passed me on. Each time she would sit on the bed and gently pet my fur, looking slightly sad.

It felt like far too long since the last time I saw her.

The boy eventually fell back onto the bed and threw his arms behind his neck.

The girl rushed to the bed shortly after, now clad in sweats and matching the boy. She fell beside him and promptly picked me up. Her hands still felt gentle and it was a nice contrast to the rough ones.

"You still have Dougie?" she asked softly, leaning back on the bed. The boy sat up slightly and leaned on his elbows.

"Well duh, why wouldn't I?" he answered with a smile, as if it were obvious.

The girl didn't respond. She just stared at me, gently brushing my fur.

The boy watched her with a smile for a short time before frowning slightly.

"He doesn't smell like you anymore." The girl's mouth popped open in surprise (much like the clapping monkey that had been a shelf below me in the storage closet - though the girl was much prettier) and looked over at the boy.

The boy turned pink like the little piggy as the girl returned her gaze to me. Her soft strokes were slower now.

In a moment, the girl laid down and placed me between her and the boy.

"Austin, is it okay if we don't have a movie marathon tonight?"

"Ally, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to weird you out - it wasn't like-"

The girl giggled and moved her head on the pillow closer to his as he laid back.

"No, I just want to lay here and be with you and Dougie."

Their wide grins seemed to match each others and only grew bigger when I felt a soft hand and a rough hand on my back, their fingers intertwining.

_I was home_.

I wasn't upset when the boy slowly stopped sleeping with me. He sat me on his desk chair as he cuddled with the girl and I made sure to give them privacy as they slept.

I figured that the time would come when I would be sent to a closet or the infamous dump but it never came. Instead, I traveled. I was transported from place to place with the boy, living in a crammed bed high off the floor, constantly moving.

"Awesome concert!" I would constantly hear from the boy's boy best friend. The eccentric and red headed boy would hold me under his arm as the boy stood in front of many boys and girls.

Other times I would spend back at my first home with the girl. It was usually after a tearful, loving goodbye with the boy when I wouldn't go with him, and she would hold me close every night until the boy returned. Then we would each travel to his home.

A short time was spent at the house of the red headed boy and a short girl who was shorter than my girl. The group was older and these two fought constantly then made up. It was an unusual situation for me but I was just as comfortable with them as I was with my boy and girl.

When I was returned to them, I didn't travel back to either of their bedrooms. Instead, I was brought to a new house entirely and placed delicately on top of the piano in a music room, similar to the one in the girl's store.

I saw the boy and girl every day, as it was custom for them to play piano together constantly. I wasn't held or cuddled nearly as much, rarely even, but it was enough to satisfy me. The girl, I noticed, gradually grew larger and then, disappeared.

In an exhausted state, the boy had come to me. A very short time passed since I last saw the two and the boy, with tired eyes and a tired smile, picked me up as gently as he always did and brought me to the front seat of his car.

I figured my time for the dump was then.

The dump was different than everyone described. Instead of piles of garbage, I was surrounded by white walls, boys and girls in white uniforms, and bright lights.

We came to a door and the boy seemed to burst with excitement. Was I that much of a hassle? Was he that happy to be rid of me?

"Ally!" he whispered excitedly as we entered. This... wasn't the dump?

"Hey sweetie," the girl responded. Her smile was just as tired but excited as the boy's and as he sat on the white, tiny bed, I noticed the girl's arms.

In them lay a tiny girl or boy wrapped in a pink blanket. The eyes were closed and slowly opened.

"Isn't our baby the most precious gift, Austin?" the girl said as she stared at the tiny girl or boy, the love and wonder in her voice matched her face. The boy lightly kissed the girl before looking down at the bundle.

"Madeline, this is Dougie..." the boy said softly and gently as I was slowly lowered to the tiny girl. Her arms were wide and eyes barely open as I was placed delicately on her. Her tiny fingers gripped me tightly and I swelled with happiness.

The tiny girl began growing and she looked incredibly similar to the girl and boy. She cared for me much like they had. There were nights when the tiny girl, myself tucked under her arm, slipped into the girl and boy's bed and fell between them, falling into sleep quickly. The boy and girl would share a smile, sometimes a quick kiss, before falling asleep again. And as the tiny girl lay on her back, me cuddled to her chest, I felt the soft hand and rough hand connect on my back and fingers intertwine like they used to.

These nights were my favorite.


End file.
